Less was more for Mike Tyson's wallet in 1996.
Tyson fought just three times during the year but came away with $75 million in purses, more money than any athlete has ever earned in one year.According to the annual Forbes Magazine survey of the highest paid athletes, Tyson knocked NBA star Michael Jordan out of first place.
Jordan's earnings for this year was $52.6 million, good for second place. Just $12.6 million of that total came from basketball. The remaining $40 million was generated from other sources.
Jordan, No. 1 in the Forbes survey for four years, could reclaim his spot next year when the bulk of his $30 million contract - the largest one-year salary in sports history - will factor in along with earnings from his movie with Bugs Bunny. Forbes estimates that will push his 1997 earnings over $100 million.
Tyson, Jordan and boxer Evander Holyfield are all over $100 million in earnings in the four years since Forbes began its survey. Holyfield, who knocked out Tyson for the WBA heavyweight title last month, is No. 6 on this year's list at $15.5 million, up from No. 14 a year ago.
German auto racer Michael Schumacher, who was paid $25 million to drive for Ferrari's Formula One team and made another $8 million in other income, is No. 3, up from ninth a year ago.
His $120 million free agent contract with the Los Angeles Lakers moved Shaquille O'Neal up from No. 5 to No. 4 with his total income computed at $24.4 million. Emmitt Smith is the highest paid football player at No. 5 with $16.5 million, $13 million of it from the Dallas Cowboys.
There are a dozen new athletes on the 1996 list, including Smith. The others are basketball's Dennis Rodman (No. 9, $12.9 million) and Clyde Drexler (No. 23, $9.2 million); boxing's Roy Jones Jr. (No. 12, $12 million), Oscar De La Hoya (No. 17, $11.3 million) and Julio Cesar Chavez (No. 25, $9 million); football's John Elway (No. 27, $8.8 million), Neil O'Donnell (No. 28, $8.8 million) and Troy Aikman (No. 35, $8.1 million); golf's Tiger Woods (No. 26, $8.8 million); hockey's Mario Lemieux (No. 31, $8.3 million); and auto racing's Damon Hill (No. 34, $8.2 million).
Endorsement income boosted the earnings of many of the athletes on the list, especially in golf. Arnold Palmer is No. 8 with $15.1 million, just $100,000 of it in winnings and $15 million from other sources. Woods, a pro for just four months, earned $800,000 playing golf and $8 million in other income. No. 33 Jack Nicklaus earned $8.2 million, only $400,000 of it in winnings. No. 38 Greg Norman won $900,000 playing golf and earned $7 million from other sources.
Total income for the Forbes Super 40 went up 13 percent this year, from $490 million to $556 million. The list includes nine basketball players, seven boxers, six football players, five baseball players, four auto racers, four golfers, three tennis players and two hockey players. There are no women on the list.